My pronouns are:
he/him
(Normative “he/him”)
Example usage in sentences:
Table:
| Subject | Object | Possessive determiner | Possessive pronoun | Reflexive |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| he | him | his | his | himself |
Binary forms
It's worth mentioning that pronouns ≠ gender. One can still be nonbinary while using pronouns that are congruent with (or opposite to) their gender assigned at birth.
- she/her – Normative “she/her” Normative
- he/him – Normative “he/him” Normative
Examples from cultural texts:
Normative “he/him” (he/him)
Eiichiro Oda – Nami shows her Loyalty to the Crew!, 2021
- “He's the king of pirates..”
Kohei Horikoshi – My Hero Academia (Translator: Caleb Cook) , 2016 ; Chapter: "Shoto Todoroki: Origin"
- “That Midoriya kid kept prodding at him and got beaten because of it.”
- “Wasn't his plan to just keep provoking him, though?”
- “Gotta admire his vigor.”
Scott Cawthon – Five Nights at Freddy's 2, 2014
- “In the game Five Nights at Freddy's 2, the character Mangle, also referred to as "The Mangle," canonically uses she/him pronouns. In Phone Guy's call on the third night, he says "I think the employees refer to him as just 'The Mangle. '" ”
- “Additionally, part of his description in Five Nights at Freddy's: Ultimate Custom Night, part of her description says "...once Mangle reaches the vent opening he will never leave. Use the vent-snare to prevent her from making it that far."”
- “When the creator of the game, Scott Cawthon, was asked about Mangle's gender, he says that her gender is "Yes."”
Eric Kripke – Gen V, 2023 ; Jordan Li is the main character of the series “Gen V”; they are a bigender person. Two actors appear in this role: London Thor and Derek Luh.
Canadian actor Elliot Page shares he is transgender (CBC News) , 2020
- “Page said he has been inspired by many in the trans community, and thanked them for their courage, generosity and working to make the world a more inclusive and compassionate place.
While Page said his joy is real, it is also "fragile." Despite feeling profoundly happy and acknowledging his privilege, he is also scared of the invasiveness, the hate, the jokes and the violence.”
- “Page said he has been inspired by many in the trans community, and thanked them for their courage, generosity and working to make the world a more inclusive and compassionate place.
Jorge Luis Borges – The Garden of Forking Paths (Original title: El jardín de senderos que se bifurcan" (1941)) , 1948
- “He was Governor of Yunnan and gave up temporal power to write a novel with more characters than there are in the Hung Lou Meng, and to create a maze in which all men would lose themselves. ”
Ursula K. Le Guin – The Left Hand of Darkness, 1969
- “He was so feminine in looks and manner that I once asked him how many children he had. He looked glum. He had never borne any. He had, however, sired four. It was one of the little jolts I was always getting. Cultural shock was nothing much compared to the biological shock I suffered as a human male among human beings who were, five-sixths of the time, hermaphroditic neuters.”
- “Seven years we were kemmerings, and had two sons. Being of his flesh born they had his name Foreth rem ir Osboth, and were reared in that Clanhearth. Three years ago he had gone to Orgny Fastness and he wore now the gold chain of a Celibate of the Foretellers. We had not seen each other those three years, yet seeing his face in the twilight under the arch of stone I felt the old habit of our love as if it had been broken yesterday, and knew the faithfulness in him that had sent him to share my ruin. And feeling that unavailing bond close on me anew, I was angry; for Ashe’s love had always forced me to act against my heart.”
Linsey Miller – Mask of Shadows, 2017 ; a genderfluid character who goes by he, she or they depending on what they’re wearing
Cavetown – This Is Home, 2015 ; Includes themes of aromanticism, being transgender.
- “Often I am upset that I cannot fall in love but I guess
This avoids the stress of falling out of it” - “Ooh... I'll cut my hair
Ooh... to make you stare
Ooh... I'll hide my chest
And I'll figure out a way to get us out of here” - “Get a load of this monster
He doesn't know how to communicate
His mind is in a different place
Will everybody please give him a little bit of space
Get a load of this train-wreck
Hishair's a mess and he doesn't know who he is yet
But little do we know, the stars
Welcome him with open arms”
- “Often I am upset that I cannot fall in love but I guess
The Spook School – Richard and Judy, 2015
- “You tell your son
That when he's older
You’ll take him out chasing girls ” - “He doesn’t understand
But he'll get there in the end
And the boys, the boys the boys, the boys
Will handle themselves”
- “You tell your son
What's the deal with pronouns?
Pronouns are those words that we use instead of calling someone by their name every time we mention them. Most people use “he/him” and “she/her”, so we automatically assume which one to call them based on someone's looks. But it's actually not that simple…
Gender is complicated. Some people “don't look like” their gender. Some prefer being called in a different way from what you'd assume. Some people don't fit into the boxes of “male” or “female” and prefer more neutral language.
This tool lets you share a link to your pronouns, with example sentences, so that you can show people how you like to be called.
Why does it matter? Because of simple human decency. You wouldn't call Ashley “Samantha” just because you like that name more or because “she looks like a Samantha to you”. Or even if she does have the name “Samantha” in her birth certificate but she absolutely hates it and prefers to use “Ashley”. And it's the exact same story with pronouns – if you don't want to be rude towards someone, please address them properly. The only difference is that we usually know names, but not pronouns. We introduce ourselves with a name, but not pronouns. Let's change that!